Mention quilts, and people often share memories of grandmothers or great aunts working with needle and thread, joining pieces of fabric with precise stitching.
Dr. Joan Gaither, who documents history with cloth and thread, describes herself as “a quilter who breaks all the rules.” Her quilts are covered with images, words and objects: buttons, ribbons, pieces of jewelry, shells — anything that can be sewn to fabric and symbolizes an...

Abraham Lincoln, whose leadership the country celebrates on Presidents Day February 19, a week after his February 12 birthday, ranks as one of our best presidents. He won the Civil War, saved the Union, ended slavery and uttered some of the most eloquent words ever spoken by an American leader.
His immortal peroration from the Gettysburg Address on Nov. 19, 1863 — calling for a “new birth of freedom” and resolving that...

For birders, each season brings a different group. In the winter, ice and snow will force the hardiest birds south, making January and February the best months to see rare waterfowl.
Take this red-necked grebe, for example. In the summer, they nest around the small lakes of Canada. When the Great Lakes freeze over, an occasional bird will sneak down to the Chesapeake.
Grebes eat fish and crayfish, diving for as long as 10...

Chesapeake Bay Blues Festival ­honored for its commitment to the music

Every year, the Chesapeake Bay Blues Festival donates its sizable profits to charity. And every year, fans of the music return to the shores of Chesapeake Bay at Sandy Point State Park for the festival that features strong lineups and standout performers. So it comes as no surprise that the popular festival was recently awarded the Keeping the Blues Alive Award from the Blues Foundation based in Memphis, Tennessee.
Every year, the award recognizes...

For nine of Bay Weekly’s 25 years, from 2003 until 2012, Dick Wilson had local thespians praying for his approval. Theater-going readers trusted him as their judge. His applause helped fill houses, and his boos (and rare hisses) not only hurt egos but also dampened sales.
Dick had far more good than bad to say about theater. Dick was smart, quick, observant and droll, and he could spot a faker a mile away. An avid theater- and movie-goer as well...

Now is the time.
One of the better tasting fish (tied with white perch for first place), yellow perch are making their spring spawning run as you read. This is the best time to go after them, indeed probably the only time of the year when they are concentrated enough to make them your target.
The neds (also called yellow neds and ring perch) are the first sporting fish of the year for Maryland anglers. Since we’ve...

Frugal gardeners save unused seeds from previous years, thinking they’ll save money.
Like everything else, the price of seeds increases almost every year. But you don’t save money if the seeds you saved and planted did not germinate or grow as expected.
Seeds saved in a closed container in the lower portion of the refrigerator remain viable longer than seeds saved in a box or drawer. Still, seeds lose their...

The acting is tight, the pace is fast, the one-liners fly and people die

Take some Neil Simon-like one liners, add a dash of the door-slamming slapstick of Noises Off, mix with some World War II political intrigue, a bunch of mistaken identities and hidden passages in a dark mansion, and what do you get? The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940, running through February 24 at the Bowie Playhouse.
2nd Star Productions is known for going big with big casts in big musicals. Musical Comedy Murders is one of the occasional...

A woman tries to pick up the pieces of her life in this wonderful drama

Marina (Daniela Vega: The Guest) is enjoying her birthday until boyfriend Orlando (Francisco Reyes: Neruda) has an aneurysm. She rushes him to the hospital, where he dies.
And her nightmare begins.
Because she’s a transgender woman, a doctor suspects her of harm and calls the police. They assume she’s a sex worker and Orlando a client she has injured, perhaps out of self-defense. Humiliating questions...

When Susan Met Anthony …
Susan and Anthony Nolan
Playing Cupid gave me opportunity to talk with him outside work
Newly single in her late 30s, my friend Lisa lamented the absence of single men. “How does anyone find someone?”
Then it happened. She had met someone, and he was kind, funny, smart and handsome.
“How did you meet?” I wondered, after all her disappointment.
...